Voiceless bilabial implosive

Voiceless bilabial implosive
ɓ̥
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The voiceless bilabial implosive is a sound used in some spoken languages. It is not in English.

Characteristics

  • The phonation is voiceless. This means that this sound is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
  • The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is bilabial. This means that this sound is produced with both lips.
  • The airstream mechanism is implosive (also called glottalic ingressive). This means that this sound is produced by pushing the glottis downward. This pulls air inward. The glottis is not completely closed, but a pulmonic airstream is allowed to escape through it, which makes the sound.

Examples

A rare and evidently unstable sound, /ɓ̥/ is found in the Serer of Senegal and in the Owere dialect of Igbo in Nigeria. It can also be found in Ngiti in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] It is also found in multiple Mayan languages, such as Kaqchikel, Mam, and Akatek.

LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Akatekkaapʼ[kaːɓ̥]'two'Word-final allophone of /ɓ/.
Ese Ejja ba'i ['ɓ̥aʔi] 'moon' [2]
Kaqchikel[3]b'ojoy[ɓ̥oχoj]'pot'
Mam[2]b'aj[ɓ̥aχ]'finish'In free variation with [ɓ].
Ngiti[4] apbátá [aɓ̥átá] 'to sew' Contrasts /ɓ ᶑ ʄ ɓ̥ ᶑ̥ ʄ̥/.
Serer[5]Contrasts /ɓ̥, ɗ̥, ʄ̊, ɓ, ɗ, ʄ/.

References

  1. ↑ Kutsch Lojenga, Constance (1994). Ngiti: a Central-Sudanic language of Zaire (PhD). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag. p. 31.
  2. 1 2 England, Nora C. (1983). A grammar of Mam, a Mayan language. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292729278. OCLC 748935484.
  3. ↑ Patal Majzul, Filiberto; García Matzar, Pedro Oscar; Espantzay Serech, Carmelina (2000). Rujunamaxik ri Kaqchikel Chiʼ = Variación dialectal en Kaqchikel. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala: Proyecto de Investigación Lingüística de Oxlajuuj Keej Mayaʼ Ajtzʼiibʼ (OKMA); Editorial Cholsamaj. pp. 24ff. ISBN 99922-53-13-4. OCLC 46849157.
  4. ↑ Kutsch Lojenga, Constance (1994). Ngiti: a Central-Sudanic language of Zaire (PhD). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  5. ↑ Mc Laughlin (2005:203)
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